Chapter 263 Price Subsidy
Before Gu Kai recovered from the shock, Schneider stared at the wine glass in his hand and continued: "Of course, this part of the cost is just the labor fee for sending our troops to fight locally. As for the consumption of ammunition and materials, The return shipping fee must be calculated separately. If there are casualties, the cost of treatment and compensation must also be borne by North Vietnam.”
Profiteer! What a total profiteer! Gu Kai could only lament in his heart that he was still thinking too conservatively. How could a famous profiteer like Schneider be able to just extort money and be done with it? This is simply preparing for a massive hemorrhage in North Vietnam!
Based on what Tao Donglai said at the seminar about strengthening the battalion establishment, once stationed in a war zone, even if there is no war, the "labor fees" that North Vietnam needs to pay for this every day is by no means a small amount. As for the cost after the war begins, Gu Kai can probably estimate what Schneider is thinking - the price of these ammunition supplies must be calculated based on the price sold to North Vietnam. The more you use it, the more you will make!
Schneider didn't pay attention to Gu Kai's somewhat stiff expression, and continued: "When the military and police department transports troops south, they can also take a look at any other places on the coastline that are suitable for capture, and come here too. What did you just say? One thing is right. Since South Vietnam already has a firearms force, the only thing North Vietnam can do is to expand the size of its firearms force. I don't think the explosion of troops will be very slow just by relying on the training camp on the Tushan Peninsula. We can build more military academies there. The faster we can detonate troops there, the more weapons we can sell.”
Gu Kai waved his hand and said: "This won't work for the time being. We don't have that many people who can be sent overseas to serve as military consultants. Besides, we don't even have a regular military academy ourselves. The report from the Military and Police Department has been in the works for half a year. The committee has always held back on the grounds that the time is not ripe. Even if a military academy is to be built, it must be built at the base camp first.”
"It doesn't matter. If it's built in the base camp, then let North Vietnamese officers come and study abroad. The results will be faster if we specialize in training senior officers." Schneider obviously also understood the military exchange system of later generations, and he responded casually.
"Then have you roughly calculated the total military expenditure we are going to ask for from North Vietnam?" Seeing that he was about to go off topic while talking, Gu Kai quickly changed the topic back to business.
"This depends on the length of the combat period arranged by the Military and Police Department. Anyway, if you are not going to the frontal battlefield, it will be calculated based on the number of days you are stationed. If you are participating in the war, consumption and the expenses I just mentioned will be added. In short, at least ensure that this troop dispatch can be It will take a lot of income. Hasn't the Military and Police Department been clamoring that the military budget is not enough? If we give them a chance to make money this time, it should not be difficult to increase the establishment of another battalion next year. I seem very confident in my vision.
"That's it, let's draft the opinion draft separately tonight, and go through the agenda at the meeting tomorrow. If there are no big problems, then I will take a boat back to Black Earth Port the day after tomorrow." Gu Kai stood up and said goodbye to Schneider. : "Thank you for the rice wine. If you have the opportunity to go to Heitu Port, I will also invite you to try the fruit wine we produce there."
"There is a military parade on New Year's Day. Don't you plan to go back after watching it?" Schneider also stood up to see him off.
Gu Kai shook his head and said: "I'm afraid I won't be able to make enough time. If we really have to send out troops next time, it will probably happen in the next few days. There are still many things at Heitu Port that need to be re-coordinated. I have to go back and keep an eye on them. .”
Perhaps too much attention was attracted by the domestic situation in Annan and the decision to intervene with force. The work summary meeting for the next two days seemed calm, and there were no major problems in the summary reports of various departments. Since the Executive Committee has focused part of its energy on the upcoming cross-sea operation plan, the work arrangements for the new year proposed by various departments have also been passed smoothly. However, some institutional adjustments will be postponed to the Time Travel First Anniversary Conference at the end of March for further discussion and implementation.
January 1, 1628, the twenty-fifth day of the winter month in the seventh year of the dawn of time. Although Emperor Chongzhen has been on the throne in Beijing for some time, according to the royal calendar, this year will still use the reign name of the late emperor Tianqi, and the name will not be changed to "Chongzhen" until the next year.
For the time travelers, this is the first New Year after time travel, and it is a day worth celebrating. However, the naturalized citizens did not quite understand why the Haihan chiefs regarded this very ordinary day as a holiday to celebrate - the "New Year's Day" in this period was the first day of the first lunar month. In the original time and space, it was after 1949. The first day of the first month of the lunar calendar was changed to the Spring Festival, and the first day of the first month of the Gregorian calendar was designated as New Year's Day.
There have been various opinions within the Time Travel Group on the way to use chronology, mainly divided into two types: the AD calendar and the lunar calendar. In fact, both dating methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. If only one dating method is adopted, it will inevitably cause some confusion in work. For example, most of the historical events in the database are recorded in the AD calendar, and it would be quite troublesome to convert them all into the lunar calendar. The Ming Dynasty's biggest reliance on the Time Travel Group is the lunar calendar. If the AD calendar is simply used, there will be many inconveniences in business and cultural contact with the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, after time travel, two sets of chronology methods have been used in parallel. way.
In order to commemorate the arrival of this day, the executive committee did not hesitate to spend a lot of money to create an atmosphere of fun with the people. All naturalized citizens were given a day off in turn and special meals during holidays. Naturalized citizens who had been naturalized for more than one month were each given a one-yuan coupon as a "special bonus." Although this move added a considerable expense to the Ministry of Civil Affairs' books, the Executive Committee believed that the money was well spent. It not only won over the people's hearts, but also stimulated local consumption to a certain extent and created a Create an atmosphere of "festival consumption".
Of course, the most important thing is that after the residents get the money, they have no other place to use it. Basically, they can only go to the business district of Victory Port for consumption, and they can only buy those items that have received special subsidies from the Executive Committee, and the prices are astonishingly low. commodities, so after the money circulates outside, it will soon return to the hands of the executive committee. But despite this, the naturalized residents are also very grateful for the "good deeds" of Chief Haihan - this kind of behavior of handing out money to the people door to door for no reason, but it was something that they had never heard of in the past.
Yu Dashan hummed a little tune and walked into the "Victory Department Store" located in the port business district. This store is a business unit under the Ministry of Civil Affairs and specializes in selling various daily necessities and commodities to naturalized residents. Due to its low price and good quality, it quickly became the most popular shop in the entire business district after its opening.
As soon as Yu Dashan stepped into the store, a waiter already greeted him: "Manager Yu is here! Please come in quickly!"
"Go and do your business, I'll greet you!" A thin middle-aged man waved his hand to signal the waiter to leave.
"Tailor Wang, I haven't had time to congratulate you on your promotion!" Yu Dashan said, cupping his hands towards the other party.
"Guanshi Yu, I'm not a tailor now!" The other party was obviously not satisfied with Yu Dashan's attitude, and pointed proudly at the sign sewn on his chest - a two-inch wide, half-inch high white cloth sign with a The words "Store Manager" are sewn on the black silk thread.
"Okay, okay, Wang Dianmian, I made a mistake, I made a mistake!" Yu Dashan apologized to the other party with a smile.
"Does Wang's store look good? Please call me Manager Wang!" Wang Cai expressed his dissatisfaction angrily.
The man named "Tailor Wang" by Yu Dashan was named Wang Cai. He was originally a small tailor in Yazhou. Later, he became a refugee due to bankruptcy and was recruited by Yahang to settle in Shengli Port. In the first few months, I had been working in my old business as a tailor. The clothes Yu Dashan ordered for Yu Xiaobao before he went to Guangzhou were made by Wang Cai. Later, when the shipyard was trial-manufacturing sails, all the local tailors were temporarily recruited. Wang Cai seized this rare opportunity and came up with many ideas for the manufacturing process of sails. As a result, he received awards for meritorious service and was promoted exceptionally. .
After that, Wang Cai also used his expertise to do some things. For example, Schneider ordered various fabrics from "Yongfeng Cloth Co., Ltd." in Guangzhou. The reference materials were collected and compiled by Wang Cai. Later, he was responsible for organizing a group of tailors to complete the production of new military uniforms. Both the construction time and product quality were well received by the Military and Police Department. After several consecutive outstanding performances, the Ministry of Civil Affairs transferred him to the newly opened "Victory Department Store" as a store manager.
This position does not seem to be directly related to his own job, but Wang Cai is also a smart man, and he knows that his real opportunity has just begun to come - the Haihan chiefs have created such a big situation, and sooner or later these industries under their control will have to be Leave it to the local naturalized people to take care of it, and those who can take the lead now will undoubtedly have a great advantage in the future. Even though it's just a grocery store now, with the abilities of Haihan's officers, it might become a big trading house in a few years, and by then he could at least be a shopkeeper or something like that. There are usually eight clerks in this department store. Including him as the supervisor, there are nine people in charge of store operations. As for the accounts and the incoming and outgoing goods, Chuan Chuanzhong from the Ministry of Civil Affairs is in charge. Generally speaking, the waiters are responsible for greeting guests. Wang Cai is generally only responsible for providing services to those Haihan officers who wear red badges. However, for old acquaintances like Yu Dashan, Wang Cai is still willing to put down his arrogance and take the initiative to greet guests. .
"Manager Yu, have you been given a bonus? What are you going to buy today?" Wang Cai introduced to him warmly: "A batch of fabrics just arrived from Guangzhou yesterday. Do you want to take a look? This is good stuff, Ya There may not be anything for sale in the state. You are now a senior manager, so you don’t have to wander around in dirty work clothes after work.”
Yu Dashan shook his head and said: "My son is in Guangzhou. If you want to buy fabrics, just let him buy it in Guangzhou."
Before Wang Cai could reply, a person standing next to him said: "Your Majesty, you don't know something. The price of fabrics sold here is cheaper than in Guangzhou!"
When Yu Dashan saw that he knew the person who was speaking, he quickly bowed and said, "Mr. Li!"
The person who interrupted was Li Nai, who had been living in Victory Port for more than two months. Originally, after the store was completed, Li Nai's mission was completed and he could return to Guangzhou for business. However, he seemed to have become interested in living in Victory Port, and was not in a hurry to leave here. Instead, he asked the merchant ships heading south to bring a lot of daily necessities, and even repaired books and went home, and asked his wife to go south to Qiongzhou Island. In Li Nai's view, there are too many things worth learning and exploring in this ever-changing place. Although Victory Port is far less prosperous than Guangzhou, life here has always had a pleasant sense of freshness and stability.
Of course Li Nai recognized Yu Dashan when he saw him. In fact, after living in Victory Port for two months, he could already recognize more than half of the senior naturalized citizens working for the Haihan people. Li Nai also knew that Yu Dashan was the first group of local residents to help the Haihan people do things. Both father and son were highly regarded by the Haihan people. Before Li Nai went south, he had a lot of dealings with the Office in Guangzhou. Mr. Schneidersch was in and out of Guangzhou, and the little follower he always had with him was Yu Dashan's only son, Yu Xiaobao. Although Li Nai didn't know what "vested interests" meant, he also understood that people like Yu Dashan must have been hardcore subordinates of the Haihan people, and it was almost impossible to treat him as an ordinary Mingren citizen.
Li Nai briefly cupped his hands, and then explained to Yu Dashan: "Manager Yu doesn't know, but the prices of the things sold in this store, whether they are fabrics or other goods, are shipped from outside, are almost always lower than those from the place of origin. Cut.”
Yu Dashan had a puzzled look on his face: "Why is this? The goods from Guangzhou are shipped across the sea, and with the freight, shouldn't the price be higher?"
Li Nai nodded and said: "It should be so. But the executive committee often purchases in bulk, and the purchase price is naturally lower than the retail price. Moreover, when selling to local people, the price is intentionally lowered. According to reports From what I know, the price of cloth here is only 20% to 30% lower than in Guangzhou.”
"What Mr. Li means is that the executive committee transported these goods back from Guangzhou and then sold them to us common people at a loss?" Yu Dashan was simply unbelievable.
Li Nai nodded slightly and said: "That's about it. As for the goods produced locally, let alone those goods produced locally. If it weren't for the strict control of the Executive Committee, I'm afraid merchants from other places would have flocked to this department store to have a look. And empty.”
What Li Nai was talking about was one of the local civil policy strategies implemented by the Chuan Chuan Group. Due to the collective ownership of production in the local area, all proceeds from production activities are concentrated in the hands of Chuan Chuan Group for unified arrangements. In addition, the only local currency that can circulate normally is issued by Chuan Chuan Collective itself, so all social wealth Almost all of them are concentrated in the hands of the executive committee. At this time, some of the advantages of Haihan's implementation of this system can be fully reflected - ultra-low living costs and price levels.
Except for the daily necessities provided to naturalized residents free of charge, other daily necessities are almost all purchased by the foreign trade department, and then the price is subsidized. They can even be sold in Victory Port at a price lower than the selling price at the place of origin. For sale to the public. In this way, the Executive Committee is the only big buyer in the local area. If anyone can't see the direction of the trend and wants to open a store in Victory Port to retail daily necessities, they will probably lose all their money. Li Nai had seen through the executive committee's trading method of buying high and selling low from the beginning. Therefore, the business store opened by "Furuifeng" in Victory Port did not even consider selling goods at all, and only focused on the pure service industry. main body.
The local people have also benefited a lot from this - although their income is still very low, not much different from the people under the Ming Dynasty, the low prices that the Executive Committee has kept locally have made the quality of life very different. No, this has a brutal effect on winning over people's hearts. As long as outsiders see the living standards of local naturalized people, almost 90% of them will choose to join the rule of the Haihan Executive Committee, and very few people will want to return to live in the areas under the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, this policy also has obvious drawbacks. Since naturalized citizens can enjoy material supplies at extremely low prices, it is inevitable that some people with small thoughts will want to use their status as naturalized citizens to speculate. Sell these materials externally. However, the relevant departments are also very strict in investigating this. The few naturalized people caught participating in speculation so far have all been sentenced to five years of hard labor - considering the labor intensity of Tiandu Iron Mine, this is basically a death sentence. .
Yu Dashan didn't understand what "price subsidy" was, but it was obvious that this was a great charity given to the local people by the leaders of Haihan. This made him feel very ashamed while being moved - not because he couldn't understand it. The principle of economic operation is that the good deeds done by Haihan leaders were not discovered by the people.
"Let me, Yu Dashan, complete this publicity task!" Yu Dashan thought silently in his heart, and then ordered fabrics with a floral pattern from Wang Cai, preparing to make a decent set of clothes - of course not It will no longer be the traditional big-breasted robe style, but a "Haihan style" short shirt similar to work clothes.
In fact, the Executive Committee does not intend to publicize this price subsidy policy to the outside world at all, because it is not a long-term solution. The plan is only a control method. Relying on the market is the fast track for development. This is the consensus that everyone has based on the experience of later generations. Although price subsidies are effective, they are not the fundamental solution to the problem - increasing productivity, increasing product types, and reducing the cost of goods through self-production as much as possible are effective solutions. Of course, for a period of time, the Executive Committee can only continue to implement the price subsidy policy for goods such as cloth and silk that cannot be mass-produced locally.
While Wang Cai was measuring the fabric for Yu Dashan, he heard a noise on the street outside, and someone was shouting "Come on, come on". Upon hearing this, Yu Dashan stopped looking at Wang Cai's measure of the cloth and quickly urged: "Leave the cloth and measure it later. Go out and watch the fun first!"
Wang Cai asked in astonishment: "What fun are you watching?"
"You'll know when you follow me!" Yu Dashan grabbed Wang Cai's wrist and pulled him out of the store.
(End of chapter)